The first few weeks back at school are hard enough without your child refusing to wear shoes! What do you do when your kid flatly refuses to something as basic as footwear? If you have ever come face to face with the determination of a 4 year old, you will know that ultra marathon runners look like big softies compared to them. Tina knows how to defuse and rewire these situations. In her 20 years working with kids with severe behavioural issues, she has seen the shoe issue over and over again. Today she explains the key strategies that she has seen work with stubborn kids.
The red mist rage of an otherwise good kid can be hard to comprehend. Spitting, punching, screaming and name calling for extended periods can leave any parent wondering, "Where did I go wrong?" It's not your fault. In a lot of cases, something else is happening with the rage filled kid. Tina walks us through the steps towards talking them off the ledge and the calm needed to observe where this emotion is coming from.
Finally, an email comes in from a mother whose daughter is mourning the loss of an older friend. She hasn't passed away. She just doesn't get to see her any more. The absence has revealed what some might consider an obsession. What do you do if your kid has developed an unhealthy reliance on one friend or infatuation with another person? It's a very tough challenge to face as a parent and Tina admits, it's a tough one to handle as an educator. All behaviours can be changed. This one really is an eye opening episode.
There's also a fun extra section where we look a bit deeper into figuring out if something is happening at school. How do we get our kids to open up to us about their life beyond the school drop off. The tip Tina has on this are going to help a lot of people fretting over the happiness of their kids on the playground. www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad is the only place to hear the whole episode each week and to support the continued creation of this show. Email [email protected] with your issues, problems or life hacks for kids of all ages. Come see Jarlath on tour www.jigser.com/gigs